Radiator



K. W. ROHLIN Nov. 2, 1937.

RADIATOR Filed March 6, 1936 l I l i n l n i i i n i mgl, fm fg p nu( ATTORN EY Patented Nov. 2, 1937 RADIATOR Karl `W. Rohlin, Merchantville, N. J., assignor to Warren Webster & Company, Camd'em N. J., a corporation of New J ersey Application Maron s, 1936seria1No. 67,440 s 'Solal-ons. (o1. asv-474)V This invention' relates to radiatorsv for steam heating systems or the like heating units, and methods for introducing-and distributing steam therein, wherebythe steamis efficiently mixed 5 with any air which may also be present in the radiator, and the mixture is circulated for more uniformly heating the radiating surfaces of the heating unit. Y

lMy invention is particularly adapted for providing Vmore uniform heating of radiating units suchvas of the type known as pipe coils, school classroom heating units orventilating units, as well as the heating elements of so-'called blast or centrifugal fan heating systems. With such pipe coil units as heretofore used, if the unit is of any considerable length, in moderate weatherthe end ofthe unit; remote from the steam supply line is almost invariably'substantiaHy cold, and Vthe heatingfeifectlis concentrated at that part of the unit at or near the steam supply line.. spaces adjacent the remoteV en-dof the unit are insuicientlyheated and yet the spaces adjacent the supply line end of the unit are excessively heated, with highly unsatisfactory consequences. This diculty is particularly pronounced with heating 4units installed for use with warm airventilating units and with blast or fan systems with which part of the air admitted to rooms to kbe heated will be substantially cold, whereas other` blasts of air will be excessively heated, in moderate weather or` other times. when the stea delivery to the pipe coils is reduced. i f

However, the features of my invention enable substantially uniform heating of the spaces adjacent all parts Vof radiating units of the above indicated character, even if the units are of unusual length or size. i

Various further and more specic objects, features and advantages will clearly appear from the detailed description given below taken. in connection with the accompanying drawing which forms a part of this specification and illustrates merelyl by way` of example, certain 'preferred forms ofthe apparatus of the invention;

The invention' consists in such no vel features, arrangements and combinations of parts as may be shown and described in connection With the apparatus herein disclosed, and also such novel methods and combinations of method steps as are disclosed and described herein. f y

In the drawing, Fig. l is an elevational view partly in section illustrating a preferred form of my invention as applied'to a typical pipe coil heating unit;

Fig. 2 schematically illustrates the manner `in Thus Y orifices .comprise which steam is distributed in a pipe coil similar to that of 1, at atime when the steam supply is approximately one-half of that which would be supplied for normally heating the entire unit;

and

Fig. 3 is a sectional view of an alternative embodiment of my invention.

Referring to Fig. l, a common type of pipe coillisfi ndicated at I0 having a plurality of tubes 1 Radiaung .units embodying my invention may be used Vwith satisfactory results with a wide* varietyl of two pipe?? 'steam heating.` systems Whether or not theyY areprovided with vacuum or condensation pumps,boiler return traps vor radia tor traps.v Y K' ,e 1

VA nipple 2 I. for connection to asource of steam supply may be secured in threaded 'engagementVV L,

with the steam inlet opening at 22 ofthe supplyV header I I. A conduit v2?, whichl may comprise `a short length of brass tubing. or the like may be telescoped Within the nippley 2| and suitablysecured and sealed therein as by welding atr24. The

' innerendj of the conduit 23 maybe provided with Y a plug 25 welded or otherwise sealed therein. TheA conduit 23 may be providedwith a plurality of orices, or other apertures forgiving a nozzle effect, as at 26 to 29 inclusive. .As here shown the Y circular apertures drilled through the side wall of the conduit memberfat points opposite each of the tubes I I to I4 respec- Y tively] In the specific example illustrated,`thve orifices 26 and `21 may Vbe l*of 'substantially `the same size 1 but relatively larger than the orices 28 and. 29 iforpurposes hereinafter'rexplained.

` `flhe nippl'ehZI' maybeprovided with 'aplu-x ralityof punch mlarks or` other indicating means as at 2 I"in alignment with the oricesso that Whenthe device is being assembled, one Willbe Y able to observe when the nipple with its conduit 23 is screwed inv place at the proper angular' and longitudinal position to have the orifices opposite the desired tubes.

VWhen a source of steam is connected to the nipple 2| having a pressure in excess of the pres-fv sure in the return main or in excess of the pressure within the radiating unit, the orifices-26 to 29 will serve to provide jets ofsteam directed respectively into the adjacent tubes, whereby some of the energy of the steam flow will be converted into kinetic energy as a result of the nozzle effect at each orice. I'hese jets of steam will extend for a substantial distance into the ends of the adjacent tubes and also cause air to be drawn into the tubes from the supply header I'I, the air being thereby also mixed with the steam. The kinetic energy of the mixture will insure its flow along a circuitous path through the unit, starting from the vicinity of the jets and run-` ning out toward the remote end of the radiator through the tubes II to I4 inclusive. The fair or steam, or a mixture of thetwo, as thus started in circulation, will promptly travel to the re--, turn header I8 at the remlote'end of the radiator,

through tubes I5 and I8 to the supply header."

Thus the possibility of any dead air spaces 'within the radiating unit will be substantiallyeliminated even though the unit may be 'of very great length Vand embody a large number of tubes. Furthermore, when the supply of steam is insumcient as in moderate weather to provide for full heating of the entire unit, at least some of the tubes, such for example as tubes I-I and I2 which are accompanied by relatively large steam jets, will be heated to a considerablel degree throughout practically their entire'length. Thus, even if the Weather is' quite moderata'at least some heat will be providedthroughout or substantially throughout the length ofV the pipe coil and the air surroundingthe entire unit, will be substantially uniformlyheated, -even at'tle return end of the unit. Moreover, due tothe prompt mixing of therelativelybooler'air'from the supply header I'I with the ,iets of steamjthe heating effect of the steamv will be widely distributed and no portionY of the pipe coil will be excessively heated.

When the unit is initially heated, the steam delivered therein displacesA air` which Y` is discharged through trap I9 (if such atrap is used) into the return piping Vand to somepoint of disposal. The air Aows freely out of or into the unit through trap I9 and the` connections thereto as required, by any increase or, reduction in the volume of steam in` the,- unit, until the'unit is practically lled with 'steam,.whereupon ,the trap Will be heated and open only enough to discharge Water of condensation from the unit. Thereafter any reduction in the volume of steam in the unit will result in' opening th e trap so that air can flow into the unit from the return piping.

Fig. 2 illustrates by Way of example the results obtained in the distribution of steam, to Various parts of a pipe coil of over feet in length, during periods when the. heating requirements were such that thesteam supply was about onehalf that requiredto heatV the unit `for maximum capacity (in the drawing the, diameters of the pipes are exaggerated for clearness, as compared with the length of the, unit). Theresults indicated in. this figure andas `hereinafter described, were obtained with an impulse or time interval type of control of the: steam supply. In this figure the dotted areas indicate the extent to which the steam is conveyed within various parts of the tubes during each onv period of steam flow. It will be noted that in tubes 3|!) and 3| which arevprovided with relatively large orices 32 and 33, the steam extends throughout steam, will be at least to some extent warmed dueto the circulation of warm air therethrough. It will be apparent from this illustration that with the steam supply regulated to provide for but'y one-half. of the maximum requirements, the steam will be fairly uniformly distributed as between the two ends of even a very long radiating unit. That is, the portions of the tubes which are provided with steam at each end of the unit are such that the general heating ei'ect is substantially' the same at both ends.of the unit.

With a pipe coil such as above described in connection with Fig. 2, I have also found that when the. steam supply is approximately onequarter .of that required for the maximum'capacity of the unit, the distribution of the steam at the two ends of the unit will be almost equally satisfactory. That is, insuch case the tubes 30 and 3I andthe return vheader 34 will be provided with steam but the tubes 3T and 38 will be provided with steam only fora portion of their length depending upon the size of' the orices 39 and 40, while the tubes 35 and 36 as well as the lefthand end of the supply header will be substantially free of steam. Also, when the steam supply isabout three-quarters offthe maximum demand, the distribution is quite satisfactory, for in thaticase steam will extend through the entire unit except fora small portion of tubes 35 and 35 nearest the supply header and the area in the supply header adjacent said tubes. This condi tion will give substantially equal radiation of heat at the two ends of the pipe coil, since the incoming steam atthe supply header will heat the portions of the unit adjacent the steam intake to a somewhat higher .temperature than the return header, thereby compensating for cooler portions adjacent where the air is being returned into the supply header'.

The invention is also of advantage when the unit is to be fully heated to meet its maximum requirements. That is, when the steam is initially turned on, the jets serve to promptly initiate circulation of the air and steam mixture throughout the unit, thereby Very promptly bringing the whole unit substantially uniformly up to the required temperature.

To meet the requirements of different weather conditions, the steam supply may be varied by various' control systems for throttling the steam flow, or controls for admitting the steam at timed periods. A Ahighly desirable control system of such throttling type is disclosed in my Patent No'. 1,880,213, granted October 4, 1932, and a'control system utilizing predetermined timed periods of connection with controlV systems wherein the -steam is supplied in impulses of timed frequency, as with such systems even Jwhere the impulses are'of relatively shortduration asin moderate weather, the efect'of the-steam jets is-'such Vas to promptly distribute the steam of each impulse through even a longY pipe coil to the extent necessary to heat the air adjacent both ends of the coil with substantial uniformity. On theY other hand, with large pipe coil units as heretofore used, under some circumstances each individual impulse of steam would be substantially dissipated before any of the steam could arrive radiating surfaces as well as heating such surfaces to a higher temperature. Air is discharged from the unit with each steam impulse and drawn back into the unit after each impulse through the trap I9 (if used) and/or thereturn connections` v It will be understood that to meet varying con-` ditions the arrangement of the orices and the form and size of the orifices may be varied. For example, one-third of the tubes may be provided without jets and two-thirds with jets, or an equal number may be provided with and without jets, and jets of two or three different sizes may be provided, depending upon the conditions met by practice. As a further example, I have shown in Fig. 3 a radiating unit having a supply header 58, a return header 5I and a plurality of vertical tubes as at 52 to 59 inclusive. In this case the alternate tubes of the group such as 52, 54, 56 and 5S, are provided respectively with orifices 52', 54', 5t' and 58', so that every other tube of thev group is provided with a steam jet and the intervening tubes serve as return conduits. Furthermore, as illustrated in Fig. 3, the various tubes may be provided with radiating fins forming extended radiating surfaces between and around the tubes and for conducting heat from the warmer tubes to the remaining tubes. With such a unit a high degree of uniformity of heating is made possible throughout the unit, regardless of the proportion to which the unit is heated to its maximum capacity.

Blast units, unit heaters and Ventilating units may be similarly equipped with my invention except that in case of units having more than one bank of tubes or coils around or through which the surrounding air to be heated passes in succession, the jets should be directed toward the upper third or half of the rst bank of tubes,

Ytoward the lower half of the second or middle row oftubes, and the upper half. of the third row or bank, and so on. In this way a higher degree of uniformity of distribution of the heat throughout the air streams is obtained.

While the invention has been described in detail with respect to particular preferred examples, it will be understood by those skilled in the art after understanding the invention, that various changes and further modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, and it is intended therefore in the appended claims'to cover all such changes and.'

modifications; A

What is claimed as new-and desired tobe secured by Letters Patent is:

1. TA* radiating unit comprising a pluralitygei j tubes,` afsupply header interconnecting said tubes at one end of the unit, means within saidheader` j for `directing jets of, steam respectively inte certain of said tubes,vat least oneofsaid jets being larger than the others, Wherebywhen the steam supply is but a'fraction of that required for heating the wholeunit, the remote portions of tubes having larger jets will be supplied with more steam than tubes With smaller jetsgmeans at the other end of the unit interconnecting each of the tubes having jets with at least one of the remaining tube or tubes, whereby said remaining tube or tubesprovide return passages for lpermitting air or steam to circulate back` toward'or into said.'y Y

header. j j .1

2. A radiating unit comprising a pluralityV of tubes, a supply header interconnecting said tubes at one end of the unit, means within said header for directing jets of. steam respectively into certain of Vsaid tubes, said means providing certain,

of said jets with greater-quantities of steam than others, whereby when the steam supply is but a fraction of that required for heating the Whole unit, theremote portions of Ytubes having said last named jets will be suppliedrwith more steam than other tubes, means at the other end of the unit interconnecting each of the tubes having jets with at least one ofthe remaining tube or tubes, whereby said remaining tube or tubes provide-return passages for permitting air or steam tol circulate back toward or into said header.

3. A radiating unitV comprising a plurality of tubes extending in substantially parallel relationship within a plane, a header at one end of the unit for interconnecting said tubes at one end, a second header for interconnecting the other ends of the tubes, a steam inlet opening in one end of said first header, a steam inlet pipe extending through said opening and sealed therein and extending partially through the cavity within said first header in spaced relationship to the interior Walls of said rst header, the inner end of said` within the first header providing return passages` for permitting air and steam to recurrently cir-V culate back to or toward saidjets.

4. A radiating unit comprising a plurality of tubes extending in substantially parallelrelationsnip vwithin a plane, a header at one end of the unit for interconnecting said tubes at one end, a second header for interconnecting the other ends of the tubes, a steam inlet opening at one end of said first header, a steam inlet pipe projecting through said opening into said rst header in spaced relationship to the walls thereof, the walls of said pipe within said first header being formed with a plurality of orices opposite the ends of a -part of said tubes for directing jets of steam re-V spectively into such tubes, the remaining tubes together with said second header and the space Within said rst header outsidesaid pipe forming return passages permitting air or steam to recur rently return to or toward said jets. Y

the ends of a part of said tubes for directing jets of steam respectively into such tubes, the remaining tubes together with said second header and the space within said rst header outside said pipe forming return passages permitting air or steam to recurrently return to or toward said jets, and means at said second headerrpermitt'ing condensate as formed to be drained from the unit.

KARL W. ROHLIN. 

